Smooth Newt (lissotriton vulgaris)
This is one of the three types of newt which we are lucky enough to find at Scotswood Garden.
Like the palmate newt, it is smaller than the great crested newt. The juvenile palmate and smooths can be tricky to tell apart.
During the breeding season, March to August, the male smooth newt has a fabulous crest which helps him to attract a female. He also sports black spots over his sides and tummy, which help to identify him.
Like all newts, the adults just come to the pond to mate. During the winter they leave the pond and semi hibernate under logs, rocks and anything else they can find. They are carnivores and will eat anything they can find in the pond or on land. They don't have teeth, but they do have plates in their mouths which they use to grasp and chew their prey!
Smooth newts are sometimes called "common newts" because they are the most common type of newt in Britain.
